Bleeding Love
by Just A Mirage
Summary: Yugi is thrilled when he find's out Yami is gay, but what will happen when Yami starts dating someone else? OOC Yugi, Rated for Yaoi, mild lime, angst, and self-injury, don't like don't read.
1. New Discoveries

Yay! My first story! I really enjoyed writing this so I hope you guys enjoy it, also.

Warnings: Yaoi, very mild lime, angst, self-injury

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh! Sad day :(

'_Blah Blah' _Thinking

//Blah Blah// Yami talking through mind link

/Blah Blah/ Yugi talking through mind link

* * *

As Yugi walked into the game shop after school, it was the first day in a while that he didn't find the eerie quiet creepy. After his grandfather had died a few months earlier in a tragic plane accident, he and Yami had been left in charge, but neither had much interest in continuing to run the shop, so they shut it down, but still lived in the attached house. Ever since, Yugi hated being in the shop; it just felt empty without his grandpa there. But today, he felt like he was floating on a cloud. The most amazing thing had happened today at lunch, and every time his brain replayed the event (which was about every thirty seconds), his mood just kept getting higher.

***Flashback***

"So what did you want to talk about, Yami?" Yugi asked, as the two sat down a few tables away from their friends, earning several curious looks from the group.

"I, uh, was just wondering... um...," mumbled a clearly awkward yami, "Um, this might sound really weird..."

"Yami... you know you can ask me anything! What's up?"

"Ok well, I was just wondering how, err, you told your friends you were gay, since I obviously wasn't here yet...and um.. Yeah..." Yami muttered, suddenly becoming very interested in rearranging the food on his plate.

"Oh! Well, um..." Yugi started, rather caught off guard by the question, "It was easy, actually, since we all already knew Jou was gay, I just kinda brought up the subject with them one day, and told them. They were all really cool about it."

"Hmm... ok. Yugi, I'm gay." Yami stated, but started getting uncomfortable when Yugi just sat there blinking at him. "Uhh.. Yugi?"

"Well, that was blunt."

"But that's what you did, right?"

"Well not exactly like that..." laughed Yugi, "You might want to tell the rest of the gang a little slower."

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Yugi and Yami got up to discard their trays of half-eaten food.

"That's great news, Yami," Yugi said as he hugged his darkness, "I'm sure the others will be happy to hear it also."

"I'm sure, but I wanted you to be the first one I told, aibou." Yami smiled. And with that wonderful thought in mind, Yugi skipped off to class, in a more bubbly mood than usual.

***End Flashback***

As Yugi dumped his stuff in his and Yami's shared room, a faint blush rose to his cheeks as several scenarios involving him, Yami, and this new revelation ran through his head. He had always cared strongly for Yami, but it wasn't until he had gotten his own body that Yugi had developed a crush on him. A few months ago, though, it had developed into something deeper, and with these new circumstances, it seemed even more likely that maybe, just maybe, Yami returned his feelings.

There was, however, that nagging voice in the back on his head, asking, "Why would the hot, perfect, gorgeous Yami like you, shy, weak, little Yugi? He could have anyone! We both know that half the school, both girls and guys, are after him; surely he'll pick one of them, and you'll be left with nothing." And on and on it went picking at every one of his insecurities, trying to deflate his incredible mood. But Yugi was doing a rather good job at ignoring it, as he started on his homework. He was going to be happy, damn it, no matter what the little voice of doom said!

A little while later, he finished his homework, and began to wonder where Yami was. For some reason, Yami had decided to walk home today instead of taking the bus, but wouldn't tell Yugi why. But he wasn't too worried, he probably just wanted to clear his mind. So Yugi decided to take a shower in the mean time, and as he was getting dressed afterward, he heard the door to the game shop opening.

'_Finally. I wonder what kept him.'_ Yugi thought as he walked down the hallway. He could hear laughter coming from a shop, and then a voice.

As he got closer, he recognized the voice to be Yami's. And as he reached the top of the stairs, he could make out what he was saying.

"Well anyway," continued Yami, "Thanks for walking he home, Jou."

'_Jou? What's he doing here? Maybe Yami invited him over to hang out.'_ Yugi wondered as he continued down the stairs.

"Oh it was no problem, Yami," Jou replied, "And I'm really proud of you for coming out..."

When Yugi reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned the corner into the game shop... and froze.

Yami was leaning back on the shop counter, and Jou had his hands on his shoulders, and was leaning in, almost like he was about to...

And then Jou's lips hit Yami's, and to Yugi's horror, Yami responded. Yugi yelped and turned to run back up the stairs, but not before Jou and Yami broke their kiss to see what had made the noise.

Yugi sprinted up the stairs and turned down the hallway. As he ran, the nagging voice of doom came back with a vengeance, delighted at its victory. "See? Yami's in love with Jou now, he didn't even give you a second thought. You're not worth his time or effort, and definitely not his love..."

//Aibou?// Yami called through the mind link, clearly concerned at his light's behavior. But Yugi didn't reply, instead closing the link. His brain was running a mile a minute, and the last person he wanted to talk to at the moment was Yami.

He then found himself in the bathroom that was across the hall from their room, and he locked the door and sank into the corner. But before he could even start thinking, a knock came at the door.

"...Aibou? Yugi? Are you okay?" Yami asked.

"Um, yeah Yami, I'm fine. I just uh, really had to go to the bathroom," Yugi replied lamely, mentally slapping himself.

Yami wasn't convinced, but decided to drop it. "Ok well, I guess you already know I told Jou... That's why I walked home; I wanted to tell him. And well, um, he kinda asked me out after I told him and I said yes, but I guess you already got that... Are you ok with that? I know Jou's a really good friend of yours..."

"Why wouldn't I be ok with it?" Yugi snapped, surprised by the anger he felt towards Joy. It wasn't like he deserved it. Yami was technically free territory. But it still hurt.

"I don't know... I just thought... Well, never mind, if you're sure you're ok, I'm going to start dinner."

"Fine." As soon as Yami left, all of the anger left Yugi, and tears started rolling down his cheers. He had lost Yami, HIS Yami, but he had never really had him in the first place. All he could do was cry; he couldn't even talk to anyone about it. The only one other than Yami he really felt comfortable talking to about this was Jou, even though he had never told him about his feelings for Yami. '_Would things be different if I had? Would Jou have backed off Yami, if he knew how I felt?'_

But it didn't matter anymore; asking what if wasn't going to change anything. Yugi could feel his heart breaking, and desperately needed relief. He stood up and opened the medicine cabinet, and looking around, pulled out a razor blade. Without thinking, he went and sat down in the tub, and dragged the blade across his forearm. Yugi stared, mesmerized, as the blood started to trickle down his arm and into the tub, and with it, all of his sadness. It was as if it was also flowing out of his body, and down the drain.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but as the pain and bleeding started to subside, he slowly came to the realization of what he had done, and that he was sitting in a pool of his own blood.

Startled, he stood up and examined his arm. The cut wasn't very deep, and the bleeding had almost stopped. He took off his clothes and put them in a pile to take to the laundry room ,hopefully without Yami noticing. Then he got in the shower to rinse the rest of the blood from his body and the tub. When he was done, he went to the cabinet again to return the blade, and to get a bandage. Unfortunately, the cut was longer than most of the band aids, so he had to use a big one for skinned knees.

Before Yugi collected the bloody clothes, he ran across the hall to grab some clean ones. He got dressed, but as he walked back towards the door, he stopped and went back to grab a long-sleeved sweater. '_Yami shouldn't worry about this...'_ he thought. '_Besides, it was a one time thing... I'm better now.'_

* * *

So what did you think? Good? Bad? Horribly disgusting? I know it was short, but the chapters do get slightly longer. I have the entire story written and typed up already, so I'll post the next chapter if I get atleast a few good reviews! I am really looking to get better at writting, so constructive criticism would be wonderful! So please review!


	2. Bittersweet Emotions

Yay chapter 2! Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys are awesome =)

I decided to change the title because Bleeding Passion just wasn't fitting for me. I had originally wanted to go with Bleeding Love but didn't want people to think it was a song fic, cuz song fics bug me. But I decided, screw it! I'm going to use it, anyway. So yeah, new title.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Yugioh. If only it were owned by all the puzzleshippers... that would be amazing...

* * *

**6 Months Later**

It was the last day of school for the students at Domino High, and the first day of actual sun all year. It had been an unusually cold and cloudy winter and to celebrate the good weather, almost all of the kids were outside for lunch.

One group in particular had settled under the giant oak tree, and this group consisted of Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Seto, Malik, Marik, Bakura, Ryou, and Jou. Jou had left a gap between himself and Yugi for Yami, who was running late because of a biology test.

The group was talking, laughing, and generally just having a good time; all except Yugi, who was content to stare at the ground and pick at the grass. He wanted Yami to be here, but at the same time, dreaded the public displays of affection that would surely transpire between the two lovebirds he would be sitting next to. The past six months had been hard; Yami and Jou seemed to spend almost every day together, and the time he did get alone with Yami was spent contimplating where Jou might like to go on their next date, or something of the like. Yami seemed really happy being with Jou, and Yugi hated the fact that he hated seeing Yami happy with him. He couldn't help imagining what it would be like to be the object of Yami's affection; to be the one he held hands with, snuggled with, passionately kissed in public...

Yugi sighed and tried to distract himself from these thoughts. Looking around the group, he saw Bakura and Ryou frantically making out on the grass, and Marik with his arms wrapped around Malik, no doubt whispering sweet nothings in his ear. When the yamis came back from the afterlife and were granted their own bodies, the other two had immediately jumped on the chance to ask out their hikaris, and were both now happy couples. Even Anzu and Honda had a thing going on, even though they didn't want to admit it. That just left Yugi and Seto, and Yugi was pretty sure Seto was just too busy running his own business to have a love interest. So Yugi was alone again, and felt out of place in the group.

Sighing again, he returned to picking at the grass and wondering when Yami would show up, not sure if he wanted him to or not.

After missing half of lunch, Yami was finally free. He had taken longer than usual on the test today; Jou had come over last night, and needless to say, not much studying was done. But Yami wasn't one to leave answers blank so he had sat there struggling to come up with at least something to put as an answer.

As he walked outside, he had to blink a few times to adjust to the bright sunlight. When he could see, he spotted the gang under the oak tree, and headed in that direction.

When he got there, he took his spot between Jou and Yugi, and was immediately embraced by Jou's arms. Whenever he and Jou were together, Jou liked to keep some kind of contact with Yami, almost to show everyone else that he was his. Yami didn't mind; since he and Jou had started going out, the rabid fan girls had finally stopped pointlessly trying to get him to fall in love with them, especially after getting death glares from Jou anytime they tried to flirt.

As he leaned his head on Jou's shoulder, he was hit by a wave of sadness through the mind link, which was immediately cut off. Curious, Yami looked over to Yugi, who had his knees up to his chin and was staring at his shoes. Yami noticed that he was still wearing his long sleeved shirt that he had been wearing all year, despite the heat.

//Aibou, why are you wearing that ridiculous shirt? It's hot out!//

Yugi flinched at the sound of Yami's voice. /I didn't _know_ it was going to be hot today, Yami.../

//Well, I could lend you my gym shirt if you want. I think you'll feel better in something short sleeved.//

/No thanks, I'm fine. It's not even that hot out.../ Yami found this comment strange; he was practically dying of heat in the shade, and he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt! But he didn't press, and tried to turn his attention back to the group.

As the period wore on, however, Yami couldn't help but steal glances at Yugi every few seconds. You see, Yami had been in love with his light for a long time; sharing a body and mind with someone will do that to you. When Jou had asked him out, Yami had said yes, but only because he hadn't wanted to hurt Jou. As he got to know Jou better, he did end up developing a small crush, but it was nothing compared to how he felt about Yugi. He spent most of his time hoping that one day he would just wake up, and be completely in love with Jou, so things would work out and he could stop pretending, but it never happened. The more time he spent with Jou, the more he realized that he really wanted to be with Yugi, but he didn't dare tell him how he felt. His innocent little hikari would never feel the same towards him. '_Sure he probably feels very strongly for me, maybe even love, but in a strictly brotherly sense only. I guess I'll just stick to admiring from afar..._'

As Yami continued to star at Yugi, wondering why he had been so unhappy lately, he was oblivious to Jou exchanging glances with a certain CEO...

A round of laughter rang through the group, apparently from a joke someone had told, shaking Yami from his thought. Even Yugi smiled, practically making Yami melt. Yugi's smile was the most beautiful thing in the world to Yami, and he missed seeing it everyday like he use to. For a while now, Yugi had been sad and distant most of the time, but anytime Yami brought it up, he just changed the subject. It hurt him to see his light like this, but he didn't know what to do.

"So guys," Anzu spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "Since it's the last day of school, and the weather is absolutely perfect, how about we go to the beach afterwards?"

A general murmur of agreement was heard from everyone except Yugi, who had resumed picking the grass.

"Yugi? What do you think?" Anzu asked.

"Sure. Sounds great." Anzu narrowed her eyes, seeming to finally notice Yugi's lack of enthusiasm for the idea, the weather, and life in general. This wasn't like him; he was usually the one suggesting trips to the beach, and commenting on the good weather.

"Yugi, are you ok?"

"Of course I'm ok! Why do people keep asking me that?" Yugi snapped, becoming annoyed by the constant questioning he had been receiving lately. When he realized the entire group was staring at him, shocked by his outburst, he went back to staring at the ground.

When the bell sounded, everyone got up to go back inside, but Yami lagged behind with Yugi.

"Hey, if you don't want to go to the beach, I can tell the others you weren't feeling well." Yami suggested, hoping to make Yugi feel at least a little better.

"It's fine, Yami, I said I would go... You better hurry up before Jou starts to wonder where you are."

Yami gave him a sympathetic look before running to catch up with Jou.

"So what was up with Yugi today at lunch?" Jou asked as he and Yami walked into the locker room to change for gym class.

"I don't know... he's been like this for around six months now, I think... at first I thought it might of been because of the weather; you know, people can get depressed when the sun doesn't come out. But I'm really starting to worry about him..."

"I'm sure he's fine... It's probably just a phase he's going through." Jou shrugged, nonchalantly, as they got changed deliberately slow, so the locker room would clear out.

"I don't know... he won't tell me what's wrong, no matter how often I ask." Yami pulled on his gym shirt and turned to Jou as the last of the other people left for class.

Jou grabbed Yami's wrists and pinned him against the lockers, as he started sucking on his neck. "Let's see if I can't get Yugi off your mind for awhile..."

"Jou..." Yami moaned, not hating what the other was doing, "I'm really worried about him..."

But before he could continue, Jou captured his lips in a kiss. Jou licked his bottom lip, asking for entrance, and Yami obliged. As their tongues battled for dominance, all thought and concern for Yugi slowly slipped from his mind.

As Yugi crossed the hall from his history class into the boys' bathroom, he pulled out a small shard of glass that he had picked on from a broken bottle on the way to school. Nobody had noticed; Yami had been a few feet ahead, holding hands with Jou, talking about something Yugi didn't care about.

Going into a stall, Yugi locked the door. Sitting down, he rolled up his sleeves to reveal his arms; long scars criss-crossed almost every inch of both of them. Some scars were old and barely visible, some were newer, and some were from the other day, band-aids still covering them.

Yugi didn't dare bring a blade to school for fear of being caught and expelled. Instead, he had gotten very good at finding other objects to use; a pair of scissors, a particularly sharp rock, anything he could find.

Picking up the shard of glass, he searched for a part of his arms that didn't have any fresh cuts on it, settling on an area with only several old scars.

Leaning over the toilet, Yugi slashed across his arm. As he bled into the water, a wave of relief flowed through him with the pain. All the events of the day, having to watch Yami and Jou, sweltering in the sun in his shirt, being interrogated about his mood, none of it matter at the moment. For several minutes, Yugi was truly happy.

When the bleeding started to subside, Yugi stood up and bunched up some toilet paper to hold against his arm. Coming out of the stall, Yugi grabbed the first aid kit that was on top of the paper tower dispenser in every bathroom. Fumbling to open it with one hand, he grabbed a few band-aids to completely cover the cut.

When he was done bandaging his arm, Yugi returned the first aid kit, and, feeling remorse for what he had done, threw the shard of glass in the trash. He hated himself for being this weak, for having to resort to cutting just to feel better, even if it was only for a short time.

As he pulled up his sleeves and walked out of the bathroom, Yugi promised himself, for what seemed like the millionth time, that that was the last time he was going to cut, not believing the promise he had just made for a second.

* * *

Well that was quite an angsty chapter... but still good, I hope =) Just so everyone knows, my college classes just started, so I'll probably only be updating every few days when I can, so be patient. It would be much longer if I still had to write the chapters lol. But anyway, I want to know what you thought of the chapter! Be nice and send me lots of nice reviews, and I'll try to update as soon as I can!


	3. At The Beach

Chapter 3! Thanks so much for your reviews, I really appreciate them!

I know Yugi is definitely OOC in this story, I probably could of mentioned that in the summary or before the first chapter, but I wasn't thinking about it, so I'm sorry if that bothers you. Anyways, on to the next chapter!

* * *

As Yami ran into the game shop, Yugi turned on the radio in the car while he waited. He hadn't even wanted to go to the beach; all it meant was sitting in the hot sun on hot sand while he baked in his long sleeved shirt. But he had promised to go, so he would go. But that didn't mean he was going to have a good time.

As the minutes ticked by, Yugi started to wonder what Yami was doing. They were already going to be late; Yami had insisted that they run home to get beach stuff before catching up with the others.

After almost twenty minutes, Yami finally came back outside, wearing swimming trunks and a t-shirt, and balancing a beach umbrella in one arm and a bucket full of various beach toys in the other. Rolling his eyes, Yugi waited for the other to pile the things in the back before jumping into the driver's seat and pulling out.

"Yami, what do we need a beach umbrella for?"

"It's going to be hot. I thought you might like some shade."  
"Oh." Was all Yugi said, realizing that Yami did not expect him to take off his shirt or to be playing in the water to cool down. It made him sad to think that Yami had gotten so use to his odd behavior and unpleasant mood. He didn't like being like this, he just couldn't find motivation to be happy anymore.

They drove the rest of the way in silence, finally arriving at the parking lot for the beach. The beach wasn't in site from here, due to a small hill between the two, but Yugi could hear Anzu laughing and Jou's apparent protest at being splashed as he hopped out of the car to help Yami unload the things.

As they walked down the path to the beach, they were greeted by a sight that made Yugi smile, despite the sun which seemed to be determined to give him a heat stroke. Anzu and Honda were tackling Jou, trying to dunk him in the water, Ryou and Malik were building a sand castle, and Bakura and Marik were trying to drag Seto into the water (much to his dismay). Yugi loved seeing his friends happy like this. It made him feel better, even if only slightly.

By the time Jou noticed Yami and Yugi had arrived, they had already set up the umbrella and Yami was applying sun block to his arms and legs while Yugi tried to find the least sunny spot in the vicinity, eventually lying down next to the wall of cliffs that towered over the beach on the right, but still provided a foot of shady, cool sand for the moment.

Yugi flipped to his stomach so he could watch Yami, but got annoyed when Jou ran up and glomped him. He couldn't help but notice the joy on Yami's face as the two boys wrestled on the sand.

Finally, they separated and Jou went to grab something from the cooler, and Yugi resumed his Yami-watching. Yugi sighed as Yami's face lit up with laughter when Jou somehow managed to trip on the sand. His face was just so beautiful, full of love and... Was that sadness?

Yugi sat up to get a better look. Jou's back was turned while he dug around the cooler, and Yami was looking after him, with a mixture of anxiety and disappointment on his face. But as soon as Jou turned around with coke in hand, the look was quickly replaced with one of adoration and happiness. Yugi tried probing the mind link to find an explanation, but only met a mental wall Yami had put up for some unknown reason.

Yugi was quickly pulled from his thoughts a few minutes later, however, and had to keep himself from drooling as Yami pulled off his shirt revealing a perfect, toned, tan body. Yugi let his imagination run wild with possibilities of what he could do with that body as Yami ran into the water with Jou.

Not long after, the sun finally found Yugi's hiding spot, so he grudgingly moved to the little shade offered by the umbrella. Looking around, Anzu and Honda were searching for sea shells, Malik was burying a very discontented looking Marik in sand, Bakura and Ryou were out in deeper water, well lets just say making waves (not all too quietly I might add) and Seto and Jou were nowhere to be seen. But before Yugi could contemplate where they were, he spotted Yami approaching at an alarming rate, carrying a bucket of water.

"Yami, don't you dare." Yugi warned, immediately suspecting the other's intentions. "Yami, stop! Don't you dare do it!" But it was too late. Yugi glared up at his darker half, now completely soaked, his hair limp and falling to his shoulders and his bangs hanging over his eyes.

"You don't know how adorable you look right now, aibou." Yugi blushed at the comment, and got up, mumbling something about grabbing a towel from the car.

As he walked across the parking lot, he noticed two figures over by the cliffs, but didn't think anything of it. Grabbing the towel from the back seat, he started heading back towards the beach, but stopped in his tracks when he heard a laugh come from the pair by the cliffs that sounded distinctly Jou-like.

Diving behind a near truck, Yugi peeked over the hood to get a better look at the couple. He gasped when he saw that it was indeed Jou and Seto. Yugi couldn't hear what they were saying, but his breathing quickened as Seto laid a kiss softly on Jou's lips. They then started walking back towards the path, and Yugi panicked, quickly darting towards the beach.

By the time he reached the umbrella where Yami was laying, he was out of breath.

"Whoa, what happened, Yugi? Did you catch someone making out or something?"

"What?! Of course not!" Yugi exclaimed before he realized Yami had been joking. "I just... really wanted to get back. Could you get me a water?"

"Sure, no problem..." Yami gave him a curious look before he got up.

As Yami walked over to the cooler, Jou and Seto made their way down the path towards the beach, moving a few steps away from each other as they came into view. A wave of anger hit Yugi as he watched the two pretend to not even notice each other. He couldn't believe that Jou would do something like this to Yami. He hated knowing that his secret love was having his heart toyed with, by his best friend at that.

"Here you go," Yami tossed the water, making Yugi jump as the cold bottle hit his bare foot. "The rest of us are going to have a sand castle competition, if you want to be the judge."

"Sure, I think I'm going to take a nap in the mean time, just wake me up when you guys are done." Yugi replied, taking a drink of the water before lying down and closing his eyes. He prayed for sleep to come, longing to be unconscious, but for half an hour, his mind just kept running through what had happened, and what he was going to do. Finally he decided to go over to Jou's tomorrow and demand an explanation.

With this thought in mind, Yugi finally started drifting off. The last thing he remembered was hearing Ryou's unhappy exclamations as Bakura stomped on his sand castle, pretending to be a sea monster.

The next morning, Yugi got up early and snuck down stairs, making sure not to wake Yami. He grabbed an apple for breakfast, and pulled over a piece of paper to write a note.

"_Yami, went to get some fresh air, be back by 10."_ Yugi scribbled and stuck the note on the refrigerator door.

After putting on his shoes, he went outside and started walking in the direction of Jou's house. He had only been outside his house before when he had dropped him off after giving him a ride home from the mall once. He still wasn't all together sure of what he was going to say; he would just have to try to wing it when he got there.

And all too soon, he was standing on Jou's front doorstep, willing himself to ring the doorbell. After almost walking away several times, Yugi finally pushed the doorbell and stood back to wait. After several minutes of no response, Yugi started getting annoyed and pressed the doorbell again a few times in rapid succession.

"WHO THE BLOODY HELL IS CALLING AT THIS HOUR?" boomed a voice from within the house, making Yugi jump.

"No, Dad, put down the shot gun, I'll deal with whoever's at the door. Go back to bed. Go!" came Jou's voice, sounding tired and frustrated.

The next second the door opened a few inches, revealing a very weary looking Jou. A bruise was forming on his cheek, and he looked like he probably hadn't gotten any sleep the night before.

"Jesus, Yug," Jou said at seeing who it was, "You do realize what time it is, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I needed to leave before Yami woke up, though."

Yami's name seemed to pull Jou out of his sleepiness. "What? Yami? Is he alright?"

"No, yeah, he's fine, at least for the time being. Actually I wanted to talk to you, Jou. Can I come in? It's kinda cold out here."  
"Oh um... sure..." Jou hesitated, but swung open the door to let Yugi pass, revealing a living room that looked like a tornado had passed through. "Sorry about the mess. I haven't had time to clean it up het. My old man came in late last night and I forgot to reheat his dinner, so he got kinda mad..."

"Is that what happened to your face, too, then?"

"Wha? Oh yeah. Same thing." Jou said, feeling the bruise.

Yugi now understood why Jou never invited anyone over. "Jou, have you ever considered telling anyone about this? You could get help."

What? No, I don't need help, my dad's actually not this bad usually, he only gets like this when he's been drinking too much, and he's trying to stop. When he gets sober again, he'll apologize and promise to never do it again, but we both know that he will..." Jou seemed to be talking more to himself than Yugi, and when he noticed the other nervously looking down the hallway, he added, "Don't worry. He's out already and won't be up for another few hours. What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, right," Yugi had completely forgotten why he had come over, and had to recollect his thoughts before starting. "Jou, yesterday at the beach, I saw you and Seto. I want to know what's going on."

"You saw that?? I didn't think anyone was around..."

"How could you do this to Yami, Jou? I thought you loved him!"

"I do! I mean, I did... It just happened really fast..."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Only since yesterday. Seto took me away from the group, and told me how he felt about me, and you know I've had a crush on him for the longest time..."

"Why didn't you ask him out, then, instead of Yami?"

"Are you kidding?" Jou laughed, "If I got rejected by Seto after spilling my heart and soul, he would have never let me live it down! At least with Yami, I knew he wouldn't make a big deal out of it if he said no. And I did love Yami, but I could tell he was just faking it for me. He's in love with someone else, I can tell. He was always distracted when we were together, especially when... Oh my God. I think I know who Yami's in love with!"

"What?!"

"It's so obvious! Anytime he was around, Yami would always be so unfocused, and constantly looking at him. I thought it was just concern, but it was love!"

"Jou, stop talking so fast! What are you going on about?"

Jou looked down, seeming to see Yugi for the first time since he arrived. "Oh, you're still here!"

"Of course I'm still here! What are you talking about?"

"Uhh it was nothing. Just me rambling on like usual...Heh...heh..."

Yugi glared at him suspiciously, but wanted to get back to the matter at hand. "Jou, I want you to be happy, and God knows you deserve it, " he said, looking around the living room. "If Seto makes you happy, then be with him, but I want you to tell Yami. It's not fair to him if you stay in the relationship you're not committed to. You're coming over tonight to watch movies, right? Tell him then, or I'll tell him for you."

Yugi started towards the door, but stopped and turned around, hugging Jou. "I miss talking to you. I'm sorry I've been so distant, lately... Promise we'll still be friends after this?"

"Of course we'll still be friends, Yugi! I miss talking to you, too. Don't worry, I promise I'll talk to Yami tonight."

And with that, Yugi left Jou's house and headed back to the game shop to see if Yami was awake yet.

* * *

So what did you think? I really liked writing this chapter. I hadn't even planned on putting Jou's dad into the story originally, but decided to last minute while I was writing it. Anyway, if you liked the chapter, review! Its always nice to know people out there actually like the story so far. If you didn't like it, review anyway tell me what you didn't like, I would like to know what you think I could have done better. Constructive criticism is always good! Chapter 4 will be up soon!


	4. Breakups and Broken Hearts

Yay chapter 4! As always, thank you so much for the reviews *passes out cookies* And since it's the weekend, I have time to update! Onwards to the chapter!

* * *

Yugi rested his chin on his arms as he watched the bag of popcorn rotate slowly in the microwave. Jou was coming over soon, and would hopefully break it off with Yami. He felt guilty for being glad about this; he would no longer have to stand by watching Yami and Jou giving each other doey eyes or holding hands and snuggling or just being a cute couple in general, but he didn't want to see Yami get hurt. Yami seemed truly happy with Jou, but Yugi knew it had to end like this. It would be exponentially more painful for both Yami and Jou if they simply stayed in the relationship, slowly drifting apart, left to wonder what went wrong.

"You know, Yugi, if you sit that close to the microwave, you'll get brain cancer." Yami joked, pulling Yugi out of his thoughts.

"What are you talking about, Yami?" Yugi said sadly, knowing that Yami wouldn't be happy or joking for much longer.

"Nothing, it was just something I saw on TV. Aibou, are you ok?" Yami asked, concerned about his light's sad mood.

"Yeah, fine. Is Jou here yet?"

"He's on the way. Aibou... Have I done something wrong?"

"What?" Yugi sat up to look at Yami.

"To make you sad, I mean. You've been like this for awhile now, and I was wondering if it was because of me, or something I did."

"Of course not, Yami. You have nothing to do with it." Yugi lied. In truth Yami had everything to do with it, but Yugi wasn't about to make his Yami feel guilty over something he had no control over.

Yami pulled up a chair next to Yugi's and looked him in the eyes. "Then what's wrong? Why are you so unhappy? Yugi, I want to make you happy again."

'_You screwing me into the ground right here and now would make me happy again._' Yugi thought sarcastically, as he got up, knocking over his chair accidently, and walked to the other side of the kitchen."Stop it, Yami."

"Stop what, aibou?"

"Stop trying to fix me."

"I'm not trying to fix you, ai-"

"Like hell you aren't!" Yugi yelled, cutting him off. "You said it yourself, you want to 'make' me happy. Who says I'm not happy, Yami? Why do you think it's your job to fix me when Nothing! Is! Wrong?!" Yugi emphasized the last three words by banging his fist on the kitchen table. Yami just stared at him, completely caught off guard by his outburst.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Yami got up to answer it. Yugi sank down into the corner, burying his face in his knees. He heard Jou come in, but couldn't make out what he and Yami were saying.

A few seconds later, he heard someone come into the kitchen, but didn't look up.

"Hey Yug," Jou said as he sat down next to him, patting him on the shoulder.

Yugi looked at Jou, but noticed Yami standing in the doorway, and immediately looked away from them both.

"Yugi, will you talk to me? I just want to help."

"I already tried that," Yami snapped, "He doesn't care, apparently." Yugi whimpered when he heard the annoyance in Yami's voice. He was making him mad...

"Yami, could you maybe go into the living room?" Jou implored, looking up at him.

"Fine..." Yami sulked, walking out of the room, clearly bothered by the thought of Yugi not being comfortable saying something around him.

"So what's up, Yug? Why have you been so sad lately?" Jou asked, only getting silence in return. "Is it... something at school?" Yugi shook his head, and Jou sighed, trying to think of something else that might cause this. An idea popped into his head, and he decided to go for it, figuring it couldn't hurt to ask.

"Yugi, are you upset because of Yami?" Yugi nodded, not trusting his voice. "Is it because you love him?"

After a minute of silence, Yugi looked up with tears in his eyes and whispered, "Yes."

"Oh Yugi..." Jou said softly, pulling the smaller boy into a hug, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"How could I, Jou? You and Yami were so happy together and... and..." but he couldn't continue, and started sobbing into Jou's shoulder.

"Shh, it's ok.." Jou comforted, as he patted Yugi's shoulder again. And they sat that way until Yugi's tears subsided a few minutes later.

"You aren't going to tell him, are you?" Yugi said, looking worried.

"Of course not. That's for you to tell him when you feel the time is right. Now how about a movie?"

Jou helped Yugi up and the two walked back into the living room, where Yami was watching television. When he noticed the other two, he gave Yugi a worried glance before turning to Jou. "So are we gonna watch a movie or what?"

"Definitely." Jou said before jumping onto the couch next to Yami, followed by a tentative Yugi.

The movie they had picked was Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and by the time Sir Robin's minstrels were eaten with much rejoicing, Yugi was feeling better. He couldn't help but notice the awkwardness between Yami and Jou, though, and when the movie ended, an awkward silence was left hanging in the air between the three. After a short bit, Jou decided to break the silence, and said, "Yugi, don't you have to go put on your pajamas or something?"

At first, Yugi didn't know what he was talking about, but understood when he caught Jou's eye; he was going to talk to Yami.

"Oh yeah. I'll go do that..." Yugi got up and headed to the stairs. When he got into his room, he shut the door and laid down on his bed to wait for the two to finish talking. Looking over at Yami's bed, Yugi remembered when he use to curl up with Yami under the covers when he would get bad dreams, and longed to be held by those arms again...

***Downstairs***

Both Yami and Jou watched Yugi dart up the stairs before turning back around, the awkward silence returning.

"Yami, I need to talk to you."

"I figured that's why you sent Yugi out."

"Yeah well... you see, yesterday at the beach, Seto took me away from the group. And he told me that he really liked me..."

"And so now you're breaking up with me so you can go out with him?"

"Well... yeah... and I didn't want to be secretive about it and then have you find out some other way. I wanted to tell you first, and then maybe we can still be friends because I really do like you, Yami, just not like I use to." Jou said, surprised that Yami was acting so calm about it.

"It's ok; I've suspected this was coming for awhile now. I really hope you and Seto are happy together." Yami said, smiling.

"Thanks, Yami." Jou replied, also smiling. "I better go then." He and Yami got up and gave each other a friendly hug before walking to the door. Before Jou left, he turned around and looked at Yami. "Oh and, if you actually do want to help Yugi, you need to tell him how you feel about him." He then turned and closed the door behind him, leaving Yami to wonder how he knew.

***Upstairs***

Sooner than Yugi expected, he heard the front door open and close. '_I hope that means it went well..._' he thought, as he made his way back downstairs. When he walked back into the living room, he saw Yami sitting on the couch, staring at the blank TV screen. But when he noticed Yugi standing there, he stretched, and said casually, "I guess I'm a free agent again."

"Aww, I'm sorry Yami..." Yugi aid as he sat down next to him.

"Eh, it's ok... I knew it was coming. Want to watch another movie?"

"Sure!"

So they settled into the couch as the opening scene of The Dark Knight began to play. But before Batman even made his first appearance, Yugi was falling asleep with his head on Yami's shoulder, and Yami had his arms around Yugi's waist, holding him close. He couldn't remember the last time he had held Yugi like this, but he knew that he never wanted to let go. Completely ignoring the Joker's amazing magic trick, he sat there, holding his entire world in his arms, thinking about how there was not one place in the universe he would rather be.

When the movie was over, Yugi mumbled something about cookies, dropping his head into Yami's lap.

"Yugi?"

"Yes, Yami?" Yugi replied, waking from his sleep slightly

"I... I want to tell you something."

"Ok, Yami."

"Aibou... I love you." Yami said, taking a deep breath, relieved that he had finally gotten it out. After several seconds of silence, though, he looked down to see that Yugi was fast asleep, his announcement gone unnoticed by the boy in his arms. Sighing, he pushed Yugi's bangs out of his eyes, and planted a kiss on his hikari's cheek. Yugi placed a hand where Yami had kissed and smiled in his sleep, making yami smile, as well.

"I'll just have to tell you again, tomorrow, when you're awake..." Yami sighed, taking Yugi's hand. As he placed it over his heart, however, he noticed a small scar on Yugi's arm where his sleeve had slipped back. Suspecting the worst, Yami pushed back the sleep up to the elbow, revealing rows and rows of scars, over lapping each other, covering the whole forearm.

"What the hell?" Yami whispered, pushing up Yugi's other sleeve, revealing much of the same. He pulled down both sleeves before leaning his head back, trying desperately to hold back tears. "Yugi, what have you done?"

Sensing the despair through the mind link, Yugi stirred and sat up. "Mmm, what time is it?" he said sleepily, but at seeing the look on Yami's face, quickly jolted awake. "Yami? What's wrong?"

"Yugi, how long have you been cutting?"

"What?!"

"I saw your arms, Yugi. How long have you been cutting?"

Yugi just stared at him, before jumping up and running towards the stairs.

"Yugi!" Yami was right on his tail, running up the stairs, but Yugi darted into their bedroom, slammed the door, and locked it before Yami caught up.

"Yugi!" Yami yelled, pounding on the door. "Yugi let me in! Please, I just want to help you!"

"I thought you thought I didn't care if you wanted to help me!" Yugi screamed back through the door, "If that's what you think, then why do you keep trying? Why don't you just give up on me already?!"

"Yugi, please, just open the door! Let me talk to you!"

But Yugi ran to his bed and threw himself down, covering his ears with the pillow, and drowned out Yami's pleads with his own tears.

After awhile, Yugi stopped crying, and laid on his bed, listening to Yami. He listened for a long time, wondering when Yami would stop trying to convince him to open the door he had no intentions of opening, but eventually, he slipped into troubled and painful dreams.

* * *

Bah! This chapter moved really fast... But I didn't know what to do to make it longer. Anyway, I hope you liked it regardless, so send me a review and tell me what you thought! Only two more chapters to go!


	5. Contemplation and Confrontation

Yay I'm glad you all have liked the story so far! Thanks for the reviews! This is basically the final chapter, since the 6th chapter is really just a short epilogue type thing. Anyways, shouldn't you be reading the chapter now? Off you go!

* * *

Yugi awoke the next morning, feeling as if he had not gotten any sleep at all. He had been tossing and turning all night, but as the events of last night flooded back into his head, he wished he were still unconscious. He did not want to face Yami, but eventually got up and walked to the door.

Tentively poking his head out, Yugi saw a pillow and blanket lying on the floor by the door. He felt a mixture of sadness and guilt, knowing he had been the reason Yami had slept on the floor last night. Picking up the blanket and pillow, he returned them to the hall closet, and went downstairs to get breakfast.

Walking into the kitchen, Yugi rolled his eyes as he noticed all the kitchen knives were missing, but he didn't expect anything less from Yami. He had expecting all sharp objects to disappear after last night. Sitting down, he also noticed a note sitting on the table, and picked it up while pouring some milk over his cereal.

_Dear Yugi,_

_I have gone out to run some errands, I'll be back sometime before dinner._

_P.S. I want to talk later._

Yugi rolled his eyes again as he read the last part, crumpling up the note and throwing it in the trash. '_Yami can talk all he wants, it doesn't mean I'll listen..._' he thought, as he finished his cereal and headed upstairs to take a shower.

As he let the hot water run down his body, Yugi went over the events of last night again. He remembered being in absolute bliss as he fell asleep in Yami's arms... and he had dreamed that Yami had told him he loved him... and then he had woken up to have it all shattered, all because of his stupid scars.

'_Damn you..._' he thought as he glared down at the scars, '_what good are you anyway? I get, what, two, maybe three minutes relief from cutting before I have to jump right back into the problems that caused the cutting in the first place, and what do I get to show for it? Just a bunch of Ra-damned scars that ruined my first real happy night with Yami in forever!_' Yugi regretted the first time he ever even considered cutting, and every time since, but it was too late now, and he knew he would have to face Yami about it eventually.

As he got out of the shower, Yugi was curious, and opened the medicine cabinet to see if any blades remained, and sure enough, Yami had cleaned them out as well. Yugi sighed. He knew Yami was just trying to protect him, but he felt annoyed that he had taken his one source of relief away, even though he had just gotten through thinking how much he regretted it. Despite not wanting or planning to cut again anytime soon, he didn't like the fact that he had gotten the option taken away, that he had lost control over the one thing that felt certain in his life.

Finally, Yugi finished getting dressed, and came downstairs. Having nothing better to do, he called up Jou, and they talked for hours about nothing in particular; sports, the weather, that new, hot reporter Dave on the channel 12 news... Jou also told him about how Seto had come over the night before to formally ask him out. Unfortunetly, Jou's dad had come home, drunk as ever, while he was still there, but Seto actually helped calm the man down and got him into bed, earning him a kiss or twelve from Jou, which he enjoyed describing in detail over the telephone, much to Yugi's amusement.

Eventually, Jou had to go help his dad get out of bed, so Yugi turned on the TV, and flipped to some cartoons. They were the old ones that he used to watch as a kid, not the new, lame ones. He liked watching these cartoons; they brought back memories of a time when his life had been simple, and he hadn't had to worry about things like school or love yet. Thinking of these memories made him happy, and almost helped him forget about how complicated his life had become since then.

It was already getting dark by the time Yami returned, groceries in hand. '_For not having a lot of bags, he certainly was gone a long time..._' Yugi mused, keeping his eyes glued to the TV. Yami was also taking a long time putting the groceries away, arranging and rearranging the cereal boxes and cans of soup. Eventually, he came over and leaned against the doorframe, watching Yugi, who glanced over for a second before returning his eyes to the TV.

After almost thirty minutes like this, Yami finally spoke.

"How long?"

"What?"

"You know what."

"Why does it matter?"

"I want to know how long it's been going on."

"How long you've been completely oblivious, you mean."

"How long, Yugi?"

After a few minutes of silence, Yugi answered. "Six months, give or take a cut or two, of course."

Yami sighed, not appreciating Yugi's humor, doing the calculations in his head.

"So... Basically since Jou and I had started dating?"

"Don't give yourself that much credit, Yami, I wouldn't start cutting just because YOU started dating someone else." Yugi spat, laughing inwardly at the irony in that sentence, since that was exactly why he had started cutting.

"Was it because HE started dating someone else, then? Yugi, do you like Jou?"

"No, I don't like Jou! And I never have!" Yugi was surprised by the question; he had never thought of Jou as more than a good friend and didn't think he ever would.

"So you're telling me that it was just a coincidence that you started cutting at the same time."

"Yes, Yami, a coincidence. Stop thinking that everything in my life revolves around you." Yugi said as he turned of the TV and started walking towards the stairs.

Yami pushed off the wall to follow him. "Yugi, where are you going?"

"The bathroom. Want to join me?" Yugi said as he turned around and gave Yami a look that made a blush rise to the spirit's cheeks. A blush also appeared on Yugi's face as he continued up the stairs, not believing that he had actually just said that.

Yami regained his composure quickly, however, and climbed the stairs two at a time to catch up. "What are you going to do? Resort to cutting again?"

"Well obviously not, since you took away my blades."

"Then why are you running away? Why don't you just stay here and talk to me?" Yami asked, as he turned the corner and was greeted by the bathroom door slamming in his face.

"Because I don't want to talk to you, Yami, go away!"

"I'm not leaving until I know why you started cutting."

"Then you better get use to sleeping on the floor."

"Yugi, just tell me why! Why can't you talk to me? Why do you feel that you have to resort to cutting? Why won't you let me help you? Yugi, _why do you cut_?

Almost by his body's own accord, Yugi got up, threw open the door, looked Yami in the face, and screamed, "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" before slamming the door again.

Instantly, he regretted what he had just done. This wasn't how he had wanted to tell Yami. There was no sound on the other side of the door as Yugi slid down the wall. He was sure that Yami would hate him, now that he knew he had been lying. It would be incredibly awkward, Yami knowing his feelings when he didn't return them in the least. He would probably move out and live with some new boyfriend, leaving Yugi all alone.

His first instinct was to cut, but since he couldn't, he cried. And he cried and cried, releasing all of his pent up emotions, until he had no tears left. The release was remarkably like cutting, except not quite as relieving. As he stood up, his arm still itched to be cut, but Yugi shook it off, resisting the urge for the first time. By the time he poked his head out of the bathroom, it had been dark outside for a long time. As he stepped out into the hall, he noticed the bedroom door was open, and went over to look in. Yami was lying on his bed with his back turned to the door, no doubt fast asleep. Yugi sighed and went back into the hall to grab the very blanket Yami had slept under last night before heading down to the living room to curl up on the couch, fresh tears finding their way to his eyes.

* * *

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Yugi screamed before slamming the door, leaving Yami to stare at where his hikari had just been.

'_He loves me?_' Yami thought numbly, rooted to the spot. '_What does that mean?_' But he turned and walked into his bedroom as Yugi's sobbing drifted to his ears. His heart broke as he listened to the sound, but he couldn't escape it as he laid down on his bed. His hikari crying shattered him, but he didn't dare try to help for fear of making the situation worse. He had spent all day at the park, trying to come up with the best way to confront Yugi about this, and had decided to just get it over with and do it, but he was now wishing that he had gone about it a different way, less direct. Maybe if he had eased into it he could have gotten farther. He had taken advanced psychology last semester and knew that Yugi's sarcastic comments, however much they stung, were just defense mechanisms, but was telling him he loved him just another defense, used to shock him into leaving him alone, or did he mean it? Would Yugi go that far to get him to go away? '_Well it worked, if that's what he wanted..._' Yami thought sadly as he went over to possibilities in his head. '_If he does mean it, then I can help him by telling him how I feel. But if he doesn't, and I tell him, he might reject me and that's the last thing I want..._' and around and around he went, going over the pros, which just lead to the cons which lead back to the pros again. He hadn't even noticed that Yugi had stopped crying until he heard the bathroom door open.

Quickly turning on his side, he waited as Yugi came into the room and left, before getting up a few minutes later, his mind made up.

He was determined to tell his light now, for better or for worse. Creeping down the stairs, he saw Yugi's shaking form curled up on the couch. Slowly he came over and sat down next to him. Yugi sat up, startled by the other's presence, and scooted to the far end of the couch, looking into the dark corner on the other side of the room.

"Yugi... I want to tell you something. I should have told you a long time ago when I first felt it, but I was scared. No, I shouldn't make excuses... it doesn't matter if I'm scared anymore. I need to tell you." Yami took Yugi's silence as a sign to continue. "I love you, aibou." Yugi looked over to Yami with both skepticism and hopefulness on his face. "Did you mean what you said earlier, Yugi?"

"Of course I did, I wouldn't lie about something like that. I love you, too, Yami..." Yugi said softly, crawling over to his side.

Wrapping his arms around him, Yami continued in a quiet voice. "Why didn't you tell me you were cutting, Yugi?"

"Because I thought you would interrogate me about why I was doing it. And I was right. You were so happy with Jou, I didn't want you to worry about me. I really don't see it as a problem, I can stop whenever I want. I know it's not a great way to deal with stuff and I don't really want to do it but it helps and when I'm in the moment it just happens..."

"Yugi, there are other ways to deal with stress. If you told me what was going on, I could have helped. And I will help. I don't want you to have to cut yourself... Together we will get over this, we can overcome the need. And I might have seemed happy with Jou, but the entire time I wanted to be with you, aibou."

"Really?"

"Yes," Yami leaned down to kiss Yugi's nose. Hesitating for only a moment, he pressed his lips to his hikari's. Yami sighed as Yugi kissed him back; his lips felt like silk against his. Despite the many times he had kissed Jou, this one felt different; it just felt right, somehow.

After they broke their kiss, Yami planted one more on Yugi's cheek before picking him up bridal style and carrying him up the stairs to the bedroom. Laying him down on his bed, he moved to go to his, but a hand caught his wrist.

"Please, Yami... Stay with me."

Smiling, Yami got under the covers and pulled Yugi into his embrace, where the smaller burried his head in his chest. And that is how they fell asleep, not all together sure what had happened, but thanking the stars that it had.

* * *

A few days later, the gang was going to hang out at the mall. Yugi was looking forward to this; the first time in what seemed like forever that he could actually just hang out with his friends and have a good time. As he and Yami walked into the food court towards their group of friends, hand in hand, Bakura snorted at the sight.

"Oh what, another new couple? I swear, I can never keep track of who's going out with whom anymore... Can you at least keep the displays of affection to a minimum? I'd rather not watch poor Yugi get his face eaten off." He smirked, seeing the blush on Yugi's face.

"That's rich, coming from the most physical couple here. I'm surprised you haven't gotten him pregnant yet," Yami said, gesturing towards Ryou who was sitting on Bakura's lap, arms wrapped around the others neck. "Seeing as how often you guys-"

"That's enough, Pharaoh." Bakura hissed, pushing Ryou off his lap, earning a glare from the boy, before standing up and taking a menacing step towards Yami.

"Guys, can you please not be at each other's throats each time you're in the same room? It's getting old." Marik growled, stepping between the two. Glaring at each other, they backed off, returning to their hikaris, though Ryou refused to resume the position he had been in previously, much to Bakura's displeasure.

"Congratulations, guys. We're really thrilled for you both." Jou said, speaking for both him and Seto, who was currently watching a fly buzz around Malik's head, looking anything but thrilled for the new couple. Jou came over and gave Yami and Yugi quick hugs before returning to Seto who put his arm around his waist and pulled him close, holding him protectively. Yugi smiled and gave Jou a thumbs up behind Yami's back, and Jou winked back as he leaned his head on Seto's shoulder.

"Well, shall we go walk around, then?" Anzu suggested.

"Definitely," Yugi said, sliding off his jacket. A collective gasp was heard from the group as they all stared at Yugi's scars.

"Yugi, what happened to your arms?" Anzu squealed, taking a step back as though she thought his scars were contagious.

"Oh yeah, well, I've been cutting for awhile now, but I really don't want to hide it anymore, always worrying if someone saw a scar or something. And now I have Yami with me to help me get better. So if you guys would kindly stopped staring..." Yugi said, laughing as the others quickly looked away, pretending they had seen nothing.

The group then started walking from store to store, looking at random clothing and touching expensive items. Ryou was still annoyed with Bakura, though, and stayed close to Malik instead. It was like any other time they had all hung out at the mall together, except Yugi would keep catching them looking at his arms, or shooting each other looks that he knew were about him. He also noticed Yami giving them all death glares behind his back when he saw them doing this, and he appreciated what his dark was trying to do, but knew it was pointless. People were going to stare no matter what.

/I wish they would quit looking at me like I was a freak or something.../ Yugi grumbled through the mind link.

//Do you want me to talk to them? I could pull them to the side one by one if you want. Or I could use shadow magic. That would shut them up.// Yami suggested, wanting to help Yugi in any way he could.

/I'm not just talking about our friends, though. It's everyone; the salesmen, the girl at the pretzel stand, the other shoppers walking by... And no, you can't use shadow magic on everyone here, Yami./ Yugi said, knowing what the other was thinking.

Looking slightly crestfallen, Yami thought for a minute. //Well... If you want to put your jacket back on, I don't see a problem with that. If you aren't comfortable showing your scars in public yet, then don't. You don't have to prove anything to anyone, and I will support you with whatever decision you make. Maybe you'll never feel completely comfortable showing your scars in public, but you've made a good first step, telling your friends. At least you know you don't have to hide it from them anymore, even if the rest of the world isn't ready for you yet.//

Yugi hugged him tightly before slipping on his jacket again. /Thanks, Yami. I love you./ He reached up and kissed him before running off to help Ryou and Malik piece back a china bowl they had just broken before the sales lady caught them.

After a few hours of window shopping, the gang decided to head back to the food court to grab dinner before calling it a day. As they all separated to go to different restaurants, Bakura pulled Ryou aside and tried to get back on his good side. After a few minutes of no luck, he dragged the smaller boy into the nearby bathroom, and still hadn't emerged as the group gathered with their food, pulling the smaller tables together to make a big one. They all ate and talked happily about their plans for the rest of summer, exchanging ideas on what they could do.

Fifteen minutes later, the two boys finally emerged from the bathroom, Bakura with his signature smirk on his face and Ryou looking rather dazed, his hair now thoroughly messy. The group just stared at them as Bakura sat down, pulling an all-too-willing Ryou into his lap. "What? I couldn't have him being mad at me for the rest of the night, now could I?" Bakura snapped, glaring at the others.

A few minutes later, after the talk of summer plans had resumed, Jou looked at his watch. "Oh geez... I have to run, guys, my dad will be home any minute and I'm screw- um, he doesn't like it when I get home late." He said, not going into much detail, seeing as Yugi and Seto were still the only ones who knew about his predicament at home.

"Puppy, why don't you just come and stay the night at my house? In fact, why don't you just come live with me?" Seto suggested, taking hold of Jou's hand.

"What? I couldn't do that, Seto, I don't want to put you out..." Jou mumbled, looking at the ground.

"I have 10 bedrooms in my house, you won't be putting anyone out, puppy, although you would be staying in mine, anyway. And you'll be safe, we have 24/7 security around the entire place." He added, knowing that Jou was probably worried about his dad finding him.

"Seto, do you really want me to live with you?" Jou beamed, practically bouncing from foot to foot.

"Of course I do. I just don't want you to have to worry." Seto answered, kissing him, but breaking it quickly when a chorus of "AWWW!" issued from most of the group watching. "I forgot we had an audience...We'll just have to finish this tonight." He whispered seductively, so only Jou could hear it, causing the other to shiver in anticipation. Jou was then promptly glomped by three hikaris, all delighted that he was moving in with Seto, though only one really knew how much this meant for his life.

After they all said their goodbyes, Yami and Yugi walked through the parking lot, looking for their car. Yugi had had an absolute blast, and realized just how much he had been missing out on for the past six months. Even though he wasn't completely better yet, he knew he had taken a giant step today with Yami's help, and left the day feeling happier then he could ever remember.

* * *

Yay happy ending! I know I could have easily put a lemon in this chapter, but I decided to keep it rated T (and I'm scared to try lol). Send me a review and tell me what you think of it! *points at review button* Go on! Chapter 6 will be up soon ^_^


	6. At The Beach Again

Yay epilogue! This is really short, I wasn't even planning on writing it but decided to after I rewrote the ending of chapter 5. I felt that it was a fitting ending :) So read away!

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2 Months Later

It was the day before fall classes started back up at Domino High, and the students were making the most of their last day of freedom. Yugi and Yami had chosen to go to the beach on Yugi's request. As Yugi stepped out of the car, he breathed in the fresh air, smiling at Yami as they pulled out their beach things. This beach trip was already ten times better than the last, and was bound to only get better.

Both boys were shirtless, and this was Yugi's first time showing his arms in public since the mall. Yami was worried about him, but Yugi had insisted on going, and he had agreed only because he wanted to do everything he could to make is aibou happy.

Walking down the path to the beach, Yami started to relax as he watched Yugi's face light up. As they walked across the sand, he even started to think that maybe this was a good idea. At least until...

"Dude. Look at that guy's arms." Said a boy who looked to be around the age of fifteen, standing not even five feet away, poking his friend. "They look like they went through a blender.

"Yeah. He must be emo. Why doesn't he just go kill himself?" said the other boy, slapping the first on the shoulder and laughing like he had just come up with a very clever line.

Yami immediately flared up, walking over and getting right in the boys' faces. "Do you want scars to match, since you think they're so funny? Or how about some on your face instead?" he shouted, the boys shrinking back like they were being attacked by a pissed-off three thousand year old Egyptian pharaoh. Which they were.

"Yaaami..." Yugi whined, pulling on the other's hand. "Let it go, people are starting to stare..." But Yami just shook him off.

"That's right, you better run! I should have sent you to the shadow realm!" he bellowed after the boys, who were running down the beach as fast as they could, not daring to look back.

"Yami!" Yugi yelled, getting his attention. "Can you please drop it before someone calls the cops on us?"

"But Yugi..."

"But nothing! I don't care about them, today is suppose to be fun. C'mon..." he said, taking Yami's hand again, pulling him towards the water, careful not to make eye contact with anyone.

When they got in the water, Yugi started diving over waves, splashing Yami, and generally having a good time, but even ten minutes later, his dark was still distracted, and Yugi was starting to get annoyed.

"Yami, are you still thinking about those boys?" he asked as he waded over to where the other was standing.

"What they said... it was just so..."

"Idiotic? That's because they're idiots, Yami, they don't know what they're talking about. Seriously, this is bothering you more than it is me."

"But Yugi, they were completely insensitive, and knew full well that we could hear them!"

"Haven't you ever heard of karma? Just watch, one day they'll say something idiotic like that to someone like Bakura, and they WILL be sent to the shadow realm." Yugi said, sighing with relief as Yami finally cracked a smile. "I've thought about it all summer, and I've decided to think of my scars as just a sign of how much I love you. Even if it is in a sick, twisted way." He laughed, looking back towards the beach. "If other people are too ignorant to see that, then it's their loss."

Yami stared at him for a while, taking in his words, before picking him up bridal style again and kissing him. When the need for air became too great, they broke their kiss, and Yugi leaned his head against Yami's chest. "I love you Yugi." Yami said, staring into his light's eyes.

"I love you, too, Yami." Yugi smiled, but his eyes opened in shock as he saw a smirk appear on Yami's face. He knew what was coming, but before he could say anything, Yami dropped below the water, taking Yugi with him.

A few seconds later the boys popped back up, Yugi gasping for breath before smiling and jumping on Yami's back, pulling him under again. Surfacing a few seconds later, both started laughing and continued to try to get the best of each other, forgetting everyone else on the beach, forgetting everyone else in the world, and living in their own little paradise.

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See, told you it was short! But I wanted to add some fluff since it was a rather angsty story. So yay fluff! I'm not that great at writing fluffy stuff tho, so sorry if it wasn't great (I'm much better at angst it seems). Buuut I hope you liked it anyway. Send me a review and tell me what you thought of the story! I'm in the process of writing a short one-shot at the moment (I'm going to try something a little more... citrusy ^_^) so that shall be posted sooner or later. Thank you all for your support for this story, reading all the reviews has made me so happy! I love you all! *throws confetti*


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